


I can't slow down, I can't hold back (though you know I wish I could)

by AbbySomething



Series: Maybe This Will Be My Year [3]
Category: Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: (is there a tag for that?), Arson, Bad reaction by outsider to said anxiety attack, Burning/cumbusting alive, Description of wounds, Gen, Guns, Mentions of vore-ish, Minor Character Death, Strong Language, anxiety attack, dont get your hopes up with the rating they still hate each other, idk if its graphic but tagging jic, no more robot deaths atm hahaaa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-07-29 16:09:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7691041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbbySomething/pseuds/AbbySomething
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Cause there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	I can't slow down, I can't hold back (though you know I wish I could)

When the fifth person passed them that day, towing their family and what appeared to be things they had haphazardly grabbed from their home, Jack began to become suspicious.

This time, however, the woman in front stopped, eyes widening with recognition as she came close to Jack, and the rest of the family came to a sudden halt in turn. Jack paused, understanding the urgency and desperation in all of their faces.

“You!” She exclaimed, catching her breath, “You’re Samurai Jack!”

Jack gave her a polite nod, “Why have so many come running from this direction?”

“The El Legarto gang! We thought they had disbanded, but since master Aku’s recent leave, they…they…” He eyes swelled with tears.

Jack noticed Aku bristling next to him, but surprisingly he didn’t speak, despite his noisy complaints about how sore he was not a few minutes prior. The child held in the other woman’s arms began to cry.

“How far?” Jack asked.

“An hour back, taking the left fork in the path,” She sucked in a breath to speak without choking up, “Are you really going to take them on? I-I know your skills are legendary, but they’re so strong and c-cruel…”

“Do not worry, they stand no chance against my blade!” Jack put on a small, determined smile for her, and the two women beamed at him.

“Thank you, thank you! You really are a hero!” The woman who spoke to him dabbed at her eyes with the back of her hand.

Jack grimaced inwardly at that, and he tensed when he heard Aku huff angrily beside him.

“In the meantime,” Jack threw Aku a cautious glare, “It is most imperative that you and your family seek shelter. Where is everyone going, so that I may inform you when it is safe?”

“The village you surely just passed; Gizzard? We’ve had an agreement between us since El Legardo disbanded. We, we never thought…” She swallowed, and shook her head, “Please hurry! There are still so many that were caught off-guard, and El Legardo doesn’t take prisoners!”

Jack nodded in understanding, “Then you must keep going. Take care of your family, and keep an eye out for any of your fellow residents that join you. I will come back.”

It was a promise, and she gave him a single, stiff nod too. With that, she ushered her family along.

“Thank you, Samurai Jack!” The other woman turned and called back, and then they were running once more.

Jack smiled genuinely, grateful most of all for the kind response.

“If you are done with that nonsense, I suppose I will be seeing you back there as well?” Aku rotated and began to walk in the direction of all the others.

“What?” Jack was startled out of his pleasant thoughts, “No, you will be assisting me, Aku.”

Aku whirled on him, eyes wide.

“In case you had not noticed, samurai fool, I am mortal. I will not be risking my life for some random, pathetic whelps!”

Jack narrowed his eyes into steely slits, “We have a deal, Aku. You would do best to follow it.”

Aku opened his mouth to protest, but his thoughts evidently caught up to him, and he shut it, though he still bore his teeth in a contemptuous snarl.

“The two of us, against El Legardo? Perhaps simply you, samurai, but I certainly cannot. They are, as you might say, ‘alien lizards’ who are obsessed with Western movies, and are led by one who could even rival me for cruelty, Crocodilus Cretaceous. All of their records run red with blood.”

“Then why did you not capture them?” Jack inquired, “How are they able to come back now if they were such a concern to you?”

Aku shifted, looking away. Jack snorted.

“You were unable to catch them,” he concluded, “And now that they think you are gone, they feel it is safe to crawl out of the woodwork.”

Aku’s eyes snapped back to lock with Jack’s, but the anger had dimmed to give way to something far more sinister.

“There were very few in my eons of ruling that have managed to escape my clutches once they were on my list,” Aku said, his tone almost warning, “The fact that you and this gang are part of that small number should give you insight as to why I am…cautious.”

Jack blinked, as realization dawned on him. He rolled his shoulders, emotions falling away to give rise to the pumping of blood in his veins; the anticipation of a fight.

“Then putting them down will be that much more satisfying,” Jack stood up straighter, and then began to jog towards the rising smoke in the distance.

Aku suppressed a shudder at Jack’s implication, recognizing that edge in the samurai’s body language and wording. He was privy to the knowledge that Jack had almost as much of a violent streak in him as Aku did, but Jack utilized it for his own moral goals. It was what had drawn Aku to the idea, on and off for several years, of just what the samurai would be capable of if that power was put to proper use.

He chose to follow at his own weary pace, though he picked up when Jack ran back and gave him a sour glare.

* * *

 

They passed more people as they moved forwards, but within the hour they had arrived at the smoking husk of a town, littered with the dead of all variety of species. Aku could see tension in every ounce of Jack’s frame; perhaps a bit too close to home, he realized with a small tug of satisfaction.

As they wandered up and through the remains, they both turned as a weak cough came from their right. Jack rushed over, but winced at the sight before him once it came into view.

An older man lay on the ground, his legs missing below the knees and multiple cauterized shots all over his body. His eyes, which were barely open, had trouble trying to focus on Jack, and every breath held an edge of a rattle.

Both Jack and Aku knew that noise, but neither were affected by it like others might be. Others who had not seen or dealt out death like the two of them had.

Jack had to listen close, but the man was trying to say something; his voice barely a whisper through his pain.

“Right…behind…you…”

Jack straightened and faced the opposite horizon just as five figures lined up along the street. Aku whipped his head, and inhaled sharply.

Each of them were five or even six feet tall, bipedal deep-green alligator-like creatures, dressed in varying combinations of cowboy-esque getup, a lazer gun in each of their holsters. Although each of them wore the same kind of brimmed hat, all but the one in the center were in shades of brown. The one in the center was a deep, arterial red, and it lifted as a long, scarred snout came up, revealing a set of bright yellow eyes with red slit pupils, and pointed teeth sticking out from the lips here and there.

“Samurai Jack,” the one in the center drawled, hissing slightly on the ’s’ sound, “We finally get the chance to meet.”

Jack repositioned himself to a better angle, ready to spring into action when necessary.

“Crocodilus…” Aku said between grit teeth.

“I’m sure those fleein’ varmints told you all about me and my compadres, so I won’t bother with no introductions. All you need to know is that we ’n that demon Aku haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but now I’m thinkin’ that if’n we bring you in, he might just warm up to us. And we would sure like to not have to hide under no rocks no more.”

All five of them let out low chuckles, but Jack did not dignify them with a response.

The air went quiet. For a long minute, both parties stared each other down, daring to make the first move.

Before any breaths could be held, all five reptiles whipped their guns out and began to shoot. Jack drew forth his sword at the same time and began deflecting the high-powered shots, which began to scatter this way and that. Aku, foreseeing this not ending well for him, bolted for the nearby alley, shots right on his heels.

Crocodilus jerked his head in the direction Aku had gone, and the two lizards on his right broke their formation and followed Aku.

Jack almost went after them, knowing Aku would be defenseless against their weapons, but already all three opposing him were moving, surrounding him and trying to back him into a corner. He could barely keep up with all the shots being fired at him, so he decided to take charge of the situation.

Jack ran towards the one closest to his right, and with careful precision he deflected the lizard’s shot right back into his skull. However, it only made the lizard stumble backwards, shaking his head at the blow; the firing all stopped as Croc let out a cruel, sharp laugh.

“Gunna take more than that, boy! Our hide’s thicker than any of them beetle bots Aku sent after us!”

Jack had a whole second to ponder on this before the shots came at him again, and he was forced back until he nearly was up against the front of a building.

That’s when he noticed something peculiar: while they all bore clothes, they wore no armor…expect there seemed to be a slight thickness of their clothes over their belly. In a flash, Jack recalled the times in Africa, when they would all go to the river to hunt, and once in a while a crocodile would surface, forcing the larger men to wrestle with the large beasts. It had been a spectacular and terrifying sight…

But the creatures had always met their fate in the same way: when daggers had pierced into their soft undersides, a contrast to the hard scales on their backs.

Jack formed an idea, and chose to run with it. Quite literally in this case.

He dashed towards the opponent on the right again, holding out his sword to the side and simply trying to outrun their shots instead of dodging or deflecting. He had to focus his energy or else this would not work.

As he approached in the next few seconds, the lizard’s expression warped to shock; within arm’s length and that face changed to a flash of terror.

Jack sliced through the midsection, and was met with some resistance, although he kept his flow of the movement and pushed harder in response. Sure enough, the reptile gagged, and clutched at the deep wound Jack had given him, before thick, green blood spurted out, and he gurgled messily before collapsing on the ground.

Jack almost marveled at the strange fact that no one had ever thought to or made any attacks against them in that area, but perhaps his strikes were easier because of his enchanted blade. He did not have time to dwell on this, as twin shrieks of fury rang out behind him, and the sound of boots and spurs stomping forward in a run signaled for him that it was time to keep moving.

“You bastard!” the other bandit called out, “I’ll rip ya limb from limb!”

Jack continued in the general direction Aku had gone, though he went further up the street and dodged into a small antique store through the broken door. He weaved through the mess of broken objects and overturned shelves, as well as the mess that was still standing, before finding a good spot to hide in.

Croc and his lackey followed soon thereafter, and split through the store to cover more ground to try and find Jack.

“You yellow-bellied coward, c’mon out and prove yer a real man…” Croc drawled, poking around a pile of used clothing.

The other reptile noticed an old wardrobe towards the back, and he grinned with zipper-like teeth as he stalked closer, being sure to be as silent as possible. When he was in front of the doors, he cocked his gun and fired rapidly into it, burning out enough holes to make it resemble swiss cheese.

Croc watched him, grinning toothily as well, waiting for the answer to their unspoken question.

His accomplice ripped the door open, and was met with an empty space. He had a whole second to be confused before a low “FWOOM” sounded throughout the building, both heads turned to look uselessly at the wall that faced the bar next door.

The other bandit then noticed Jack, hiding low behind the desk and stack of magazines that had been behind him this whole time, but before he could react Jack plunged his sword through the armor on the other’s belly.

Jack withdrew his weapon and ran for the entrance, and the absolute scream of rage that followed him almost made him quake. But he did not fear these crude bullies, regardless of whatever records followed them.

The instant he was outside, Jack leapt up high and onto the flat roof of the shop, keeping out of Croc’s shots, before he began to make his way towards the sound from only moments ago. It was, undoubtedly, Aku, and he needed to be sure—

Why did he care if Aku lived or died, again?

He did not have time to decide on this.

Jack leapt over the gap between the buildings, bursting in though a window to a bedroom in a roll, and quickly made his way to the door.

* * *

 

Aku had almost hit a dead end when he first ran from the shootout, but thankfully the alley opened to the right and he followed it, coming in to the first open back door he saw. It was a kitchen— likely the one belonging to the bar he had just ran past— and smoke was filtering out from several pots on a fire-fueled stovetop.

That, combined with the awful smell of whatever was burning in those pots, made every hair on Aku’s body rise, and he was almost sick with the overwhelming sensation of eerie bumps rising along his skin. He steadied himself on a counter, and then tried to quickly form a plan.

Before he could, however, the sound of spurs snapped his attention to the door, and he whirled upon his heel and began to back away as the two bandits strode in, bearing knowing grins as they backed him into a figurative corner.

Desperately, Aku glanced behind him at the burning pots and firey stove, and formed…something resembling a plan.

“W-wait!” he tried, “At least give me a fair shot! Fight me!”

One of them started to laugh and raise his gun, but the one to his left stopped him, motioning to the stove behind Aku.

“If’n we miss him,” he explained, “That thing’ll light up faster than a pine tree the day after Christmas.”

The two of them grimaced, and hesitantly put their weapons into their holsters. The space between the counters was small, so the bandit on the right stepped forward, followed closely by the second one.

“Alrighty, we’ll give ya a chance, human! You’ll be mighty tasty with whatever else is cookin’ on that stove there.”

The one in front licked his teeth with a lithe forked tongue, but Aku was not dissuaded.

“Come _get_ me then,” he snarled.

The first lizard’s eyes widened a bit at Aku’s cheek, but then sprinted at Aku, claws forward to strike.

‘ _Use their momentum against them_ ’ the fool’s voice said softly in his thoughts, and Aku tensed.

At the last second, Aku’s hands jabbed forward and gripped the lapels of the bandit’s outfit, stepping smoothly to the side and throwing him straight into the pots and open fire. He still managed to get clawed a bit before he let go and dashed backwards, wincing at the sting, but it was worth it to hear that creature scream in agony as the pot spilled over onto him, burning him with the fire.

However, whatever was in the pot made the fire light up all at once wherever the substance had spread, and the scream turned louder and more pained as he threw himself up and back, and flailed blindly about.

His companion’s jaw dropped, and he searched for a source of water to ease the other’s pain. Aku’s memory clicked into place suddenly, and his eyes went very wide when the lizard that wasn’t on fire found a bucket labeled “Horse water.”

Aku hurtled himself towards the far door, throwing himself through it just as the bucket tipped over onto the head of the flaming reptile.

A loud “FWOOM” shook the building, and even through the walls Aku could feel the heat of the fireball that had evidently resulted from the stupid bandit’s choice of throwing water onto a grease fire. Another cry rang out, but it was quickly quieted, and everything fell silent once more.

Heart pounding like a drum in his chest, Aku fell to the floor behind the countertop that had apparently served as the actual bar part of the pub, and tremors overtook his whole body. He gulped for air, even if it didn’t feel like he was getting any, and while he did feel heated from the whole confrontation, it still felt like a cold sweat was breaking out over him.

‘ _Not again…_ ’ His thoughts groaned, and he squeezed his eyes shut, still forcing himself to breathe. He couldn’t even control his own body anymore, what hope did he have—

A thick swell of fear suddenly arose in him, and his whole body shook like it was in the midst of an earthquake. He had to bite his lip to keep his voice from lifting as it unwillingly stuttered out weak noises. A spike of anger followed the thought that the samurai had been the one to force him into this situation unwillingly, and thus held responsibility for causing this to Aku, but it was immediately drowned out by the waves of terror.

All he could think to keep doing was breathe as best he could, not giving any mind to the other thoughts that threatened to rise. He focused on that one goal, clinging to it with all that he could.

* * *

 

The room Jack had landed in opened to a long hallway over what appeared to be a bar, and he spotted a familiar face sitting behind the long table filled with bottles and taps of alcohol.

He leapt down, but Aku didn’t seem to notice him, so Jack walked up and peered over the counter.

“Aku?”

Aku heard the samurai, but still didn’t have enough control to be able to turn his head, or even swivel his eyes.

‘ _Oh hell, oh sweet fresh hell!_ ’ Aku’s inner monologue began to chant, and he twitched with the realization that Jack was seeing this; seeing this awful, nightmarish moment.

He actually managed to close his eyes, shutting out the world around him, doubling his efforts to calm himself. Unfortunately, he heard the telltale signs of the samurai coming over the counter, and coming towards him, still questioning, questioning…

‘ _Don’t come near me— you’ll make it worse!_ ’ he wanted to say, but his throat choked on it, and couldn’t force the words out with the breaths he was heaving.

Jack, meanwhile, was just about as confused as he could get. Why was Aku shaking and breathing so hard? What had happened in that kitchen, with that strange noise?

That was all interrupted when he heard the sound of boots clanking into the doorway, and he rotated to see a shadowed figure in the doorway, but he could still distinguish the blood red hat.

“Aku, get up. We do not have time for this!” He whispered harshly.

“You…you…you!” Crocodilus ranted, practically foaming at the mouth. Jack could only imagine the rage the reptile felt: having been established for so long that he and his gang were powerful, only to be taken down in such a short time by two humans.

But that was neither here nor there, and Aku still had not moved. Jack almost reached down to shake him out of it, but Croc drew his weapon and began firing in a span, yelling incoherently. Jack fell down behind the thick counter, using it as a cover, and threw one more angry glare at Aku before making his way to the other open end, seeking refuge behind the other upturned tables and pillars to make his way closer to their threat.

Somehow, miraculously, despite the panic still flooding him, the sound of the shouting and firing helped Aku’s mind and body snap back into sync, and he gasped as his chest managed to open again, flinging him back into the moment. He took another few breaths until the sound of Croc’s boots was just on the other side, and Aku cautioned a glance at the samurai before Jack sped out and rolled behind a nearby table.

Croc immediately trailed Jack, moving much faster to try and block him in. Aku had to move in slow, careful steps, but he lifted his head over the counter eventually to peer at the scene.

The table Jack was behind was not made to last against such a high-powered weapon, and within a minute Jack had to dash to another or else he would have been a sitting duck. Aku’s eyes wandered to Croc, and it took him a second to process the strange string of small, circular objects strung across Croc’s back.

He closed his eyes, concentrating on the now. When his mind went blank save for the single, hard-driven plan he had in mind, he charged forward.

Aku nearly crashed into Croc, but at the last second he turned, reaching out and hooking his fingers into the strings connecting the pins of grenades. Croc turned, confusion setting in, but Aku tossed him the loose string and made for Jack behind the table.

“ _Run!_ ” he screamed, tugging the samurai’s gi at his neck before continuing on, running faster than any time he could recall beforehand.

Surprisingly, Jack followed without question, and the two were out the door in seconds.

Crocodilus, mind still stuck in rage, made it halfway to the center of the floor before he recalled what the string of little pins had been attached to, and he had just enough time to stop and process panic.

“Gods fuckin’—!”

The explosion that followed, still so close to Jack and Aku, launched them forward, and they rolled in the dirt for a few feet before falling still.

Aku simply lay there, content to not move again for a while considering all that he had just been through. Jack had to struggle to get to his feet, the explosion still having shaken him, but determined to be on alert.

The building began to crumble before them, parts of it on fire, and dust combined with the smoke that rose through the air. Jack took a steady breath, and then turned to look at Aku.

Aku had—

They had _worked together_ at this.

He was reminded of their time in the desert, in the first year of his arrival upon this timeline, when Aku had disguised himself as “Ikra.” They had almost…gotten along. Even if it had been a ruse, they had fought well together.

But that memory also brought a bitter taste to his mouth, so he gently pushed it back.

“That was…good thinking, Aku,” Jack was able to admit, but he had to force the next words out, “…Thank you.”

Aku groaned into the dirt, exhaustion now creeping into his body. He barely had enough energy to turn his head and gloat.

“Yes! Be grateful Aku was there to get you out of that deathtrap! You would indeed be lost without me.”

Jack shut his eyes and let it go with the knowledge that yes, it was still Aku in that body.

After they had put themselves back into some semblance of order, the two walked slowly out back towards the path they had taken in, seeking to follow up on Jack’s promise to inform the residents that all was safe. Half of an hour into their journey, Jack tried to ask Aku what had been going on behind the bar countertop, but Aku wove him a colorful euphemism for taking pleasure on his own involving a pineapple and a horse.

However, seeing Aku so baffled by the enthusiastic thanks they both received was, in Jack’s opinion, more than worth it all.

**Author's Note:**

> And with that I make another movie reference I love
> 
> If u want a better idea of how I imagined the El Legarto gang, look up “zorgons” from Zathura. Except imagine them dressed like Clint Eastwood. :D
> 
> My wonderful betas: [Cobalt the Fox](https://cobalt-draws.tumblr.com/) and [Ka Won!!](http://iwalkandtalk.tumblr.com/)


End file.
